Another in the Ken Russell oeuvre: another composer too. Unlike the Elgar film, this is a fully embodied story and not just a biographical overview. Written with the assistance of Eric Fenby, Frederick Delius' amanuensis in his final years, it gives us a personal insight into the composer at a specific point in his life. I'll admit, I first knew of Delius (and as it happens, Fenby) from Kate Bush's song about Delius that captures the pivotal moment in the film [Kate based a lot of her songs on films -- "It's in the trees! It's coming!"] where Fenby first takes Delius' dictation for what would become "Song of Summer" and the young man's initial confusion and panic when he can't understand Delius' "Ta ta ta ta!" Her video nods to the images of Russell's film as well -- the wicker wheelchair! When I am old and need a chair, I want a wicker one.
Russell's film makes as much of their native Yorkshire as of the "exotic" location in Grez, although Fenby's fish-out-of-water feeling offers the viewer an entré into Delius and Jelka's world. The arrival of fellow composer Percy Grainger to the quietly obsessive menage breaks open the narrative delightfully. While not as visually arresting as the Elgar documentary, this short film showcases a lot of the visual acuity that sometimes gets overwhelming in later films. Russell had a very fine eye. You can watch this on YouTube if you don't have access to BBC4.
As always, see the round up of overlooked gems over at Sweet Freedom.
The BBC has been pulling out a bunch of Russell films from the vault in a grudging sort of admiration for the filmmaker's passing, including a doco on his life, A Bit of a Devil. So my DVR seems to be filling up with an assortment of things (which means I'll finally see The Boyfriend). I actually watched this in real time and plan to re-watch it soon. We're all used to thinking of Russell as the bad boy of excess (who, having seen it, can get the giant penis of Listomania out of their eyeballs?). Certainly a number of his films live up to that surreal excess.
But there is a range to his work -- even within his most excessive films (what would qualify for that? The Devils?) there are quiet enigmas. Elgar, a short film made for Monitor shows a restrained Russell at work but one who (as the doco tells us) delighted in dancing naked to extraordinary music. People tend to remember Elgar most for the song they hear at graduations, but there's so much more. Another one of those weird confluences of the zeitgeist: the events in Penda's Fen hinge on Elgar's Dream of Gerontius and the composer makes an appearance as the story takes place in the same location, the hills of Malvern.
I was talking about this on Twitter with a friend about how sensitive and deft the film was, how it put the music at the center. It tread the line between documentary and re-enactment without falling into the silliness that usually means. As Susie said, this was in sharp contrast to the slickness of current documentaries "and no silly camera work, no 'acting' Loved shot of Elgar walking into room of draped chairs to his draped billiard table." The film is full of striking images that encapsulate significant moments of Elgar's life (some of which reappear in Russell's work, but they're integrated into Elgar's story well). The music is the real star and Russell allows the audience to embrace the music full on, giving us space to really listen with visuals that compliment but never intrude on that experience. You can watch it in pieces on YouTube: not ideal, but worthwhile nonetheless. Excellent work.
See the roundup of recommendations over at Sweet Freedom.
